Gifts and Returns (2008)

Sunshine

With bands like Reverse the Curse, Echoes of Harpers Ferry and the Sidekicks, among many others, the scene in Ohio -- specifically, the northeastern chunk of it -- appears to possess a healthy amount of diverse acts, and most of them are really fucking good. No Target Audience can safely be added to...Login to Rate

With bands like Reverse the Curse, Echoes of Harpers Ferry and the Sidekicks, among many others, the scene in Ohio -- specifically, the northeastern chunk of it -- appears to possess a healthy amount of diverse acts, and most of them are really fucking good. No Target Audience can safely be added to that list with their new-ish EP, Gifts and Returns.

Hearing to the gritty, blistering hardcore of 58-second intro "Our Good Friends the Police" might mislead the listener into thinking Gifts and Returns is a re-imagining of a sound from a quarter of a century ago, but that's where the homage ends.

The other four songs here are kind of all over the place, but there isn't anything included that's so outlandish it'd cause you to say out loud to yourself, "What the fuck is that doing in there?" I mean, Christ, there's a saxophone prominent on both "The Earth" and "High Horses for Tired People"; the former is a fairly conventional grit-laced pop-punk jam and the latter is louder and slightly more chaotic, but again, neither song is hampered by it. And if you're waiting for a lazy, name-droppy comparison, here's one: these songs sound like a cross between Get Warmer-era Bomb the Music Industry! and any-era Latterman.

And if they still haven't blown your mind -- with diversity! -- No Target Audience end Gifts and Returns with "Passing Through," a five-plus-minute opus with a somber introductory piano part and more horns. The song maintains a mid-tempo foundation throughout and ends with some positively infectious gang vocals. Not too shabby.

Just in case this glowing review isn't incentive enough for you to check out this EP, you can download it for free at the link below.